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 | Vienna Things To Do | Tips 1 - 10 of 3365 |  |
As one of the most important art museums of Europe the "Kunsthistorisches Museum" has no specific site on the Vienna "things to do" I will join my comment on the KHM to the Hofburg site as it is located in one of the imperial palaces close to that Hofburg.
The gallery of paintings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum results from the project of a private imperial collection and is the reflection of the taste of the various member collectors of the dynasty of Habsburg, mainly the emperor Rodolphe II and the archdukes Ferdinand II and Leopold Guillaume. This archduke is the greatest paint collector of his 17th century. Thanks to him the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna became a museum of an essential importance as regards the Flemish and Venetian Schools. One will notice that this collection is geographically limited to the countries which had narrow links with the Habsburg i.e. Germany, the South of Netherlands (Belgium) the North of Italy and Spain but that France and Holland, with whom Austria had tense relations, are only weakly represented. It would be vain to review the painters and the works of this grand collection of the 15th to the 18th centuries. The collection of Pieter Bruegel the Elder is unequalled and is worth by itself the journey to Vienna. Furthermore there are Van der Weyden, Dürer, Jordaens, Rubens, Van Dyck, Titien, Tintoret, Veronese, Canaleto, Velasquez and many others. One of my favourite paintings, besides the Bruegels, is the" Allegorie of Painting" of Vermeer who was acquired in 1945. I find extraordinary that sixty years ago one could still buy a Vermeer! Address: Maria-Theresien Platz 5,Directions: close to the Neue Burg and Hofburg.Website: www.khm.at |
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For all amateurs of Pieter Bruegel the Elder the room X of the Paint gallery at the KHM, located in one of the imperial palaces near the Hofburg, is an absolute must. The museum has 14 paintings of P. Bruegel the Elder, i.e. the third of his paintings known about the world!
Among these 14 some of the most remarkable as The Tower of Babel, The Fight of Carnival and Lent, the Peasants Dance, The Peasant Wedding and especially the most beautiful, the purest, the most intense of the works of P. Bruegel " Hunters in the Snow" To go to Vienna without having seen Bruegel it is as going to Paris without seeing La Joconde in Le Louvre. But contrary to the room of the Louvre with Mona Lisa, visitors are not bumping into each other in room X of the KHM of Vienna. A relation having visited the KHM asked me (it was the time of the action in justice against the Austrian State about the Klimt's) if Belgium, which has only six P. Bruegel the Elder, did not wish the return of the Bruegel's to Brussels where the painter lived and died (1569). I would certainly like to see more Bruegel's in the Museum of the Fine Arts in Brussels but these paintings were offered by the city of Antwerp to the archduke Ernest in 1594, the others were bought in total legality. Furthermore if Belgium began demanding the return of all the works of the Flemish painters worldwide she would not have enough walls to hang them on and numerous museums in the world would have empty rooms. And last but not least, numerous persons worldwide know Belgium only by her painters. Let the Bruegel's stays in Vienna, it is a pleasure to see them in a beautiful surrounding such as the KHM and the town of Vienna. Address: Maria-Theresien Platz 5,Directions: Near the Neue Burg and Hofburg.Website: www.khm.at |
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The gallery of paintings of the Academy of the Fine arts of Vienna is essentially visited for its famous altar triptych of the "Last Judgment" by Hieronymus (Jerome) Bosch.
This work of 1504 belonged to the archduke Leopold of Austria and became part of the collection of the count Lamberg, founder of this museum.
The wings of the triptych open to reveal, from left to right, "Original Sin", "The Last Judgement" and "Hell".
Bosch’s pictures have always fascinated viewers; Philip II, king of Spain, collected his works. If in his time Bosch was regarded as the inventor of monsters and chimeras, today his paintings still hold as an intriguing attraction reflecting mysterious practices of the Middle Ages. I was surprised during my last visit at the Prado museum of Madrid to notice that guides stopped their groups in front of the other famous triptych of J. Bosch " The Garden of the Delights " to explain at length its symbolism, while in previous years they would spend more time on Velazquez and other painters of the Spanish school.
Jerome Bosch seems a rising star in the world of the fans of the esotericism, the mysteries and the sects. Should we see here a collateral effect of the "Da Vinci Code" esoteric passion?
Really, there is nothing esoteric in the gallery of the paintings of the Academy of Vienna. This museum is - still - very quiet and has few visitors. It is a pity because it contains a number of other masterpieces.
In front of the Bosch triptych is a magnificent painting of Dieric Bouts "The Coronation of the Virgin".
The museum also has beautiful sections of paintings of the German school with Cranach, the Italians, the Flemish baroque with Rubens and a collection of Dutch painters with a magnificent Pieter de Hooch "Family picture in a courtyard in Delft" and a portrait by Rembrandt.
The amateurs of Venice will find eight views "veduti" by Guardi.
Open 10 to 18 h. Closed on Monday.
Entry 7 €,
Reduced price 4 € Address: Akademie der bildenden Künste 1, Schillerplatz 3Directions: U, Tram, Bus: KarlsplatzWebsite: www.akademiegalerie.at |
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This is the most beautiful collection of suits of armour in Europe.
The collection of weapons ( Hofjagd-und Rüstkammer) of the Kunsthistorisches Museum is centred on ceremonial or parade weapons and offers a very wide panorama of the evolution of what was a real art for the 15th century in Europe and in the Middle East.
The emperor Maximilien I devoted gladly to the tournaments and incited the young noble persons to devote to the joust and especially the running which was practised with sharp lances, more dangerous than the joust, but much less expensive because she could be practised in the battle armour.
Things did not stay in the field of ordinary armour because the Habsburg (notably both brothers Maximilien II and Ferdinand II) by taste for art and splendour led the technique of armours to a real art close to the goldsmith's art. The connoisseur will find in this museum numerous chiselled armours, inlaid armours, the fluted armours, the costume armours, greek-roman style armours, and darkened armours from the Baroque period.
Considerable financial means were needed to pay such works of art. Ferdinand II of Tyrol excelled at this passion of the beautiful suits of armour. Not satisfied with his own armours he collected armours and weapons of 125 famous persons of his time. We can see the suit of armour of Philippe II of Spain.
These collections are well presented in a number of rooms where the visitor is often alone! This museum still has not the chance (or misfortune for the connoisseurs) to be on the visit program of the groups.
There is also on show a collection of hunting weapons. Address: Hofjagd-und Rüstkammer, Neue Burg, HeldenplatzDirections: The collection of armours and hunting weapons is part of the KHM but is in Neue Burg next to the Hofburg.Website: www.khm.at |
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St Stephan’s surely must take the award for the “Number One” sight in Vienna. The problem is that you are likely to gain the impression that nearly everyone in Vienna also will be visiting whenever you are there! An early start does help though.
Built in the 13th-14th centuries, St Stephan’s has had a hard time, being damaged by wars on several occasions. Most recently, it was severely damaged by fires late in WW II. That damage has long been repaired, but during our visit much of the main tower was so encased in scaffolding that I was prompted to make the unkind comment that it looked like a giant …well, never mind! Apparently the scaffolding is required for ongoing renovation work.
On your first visit, you probably will share our surprise at the extent to which the cathedral is hemmed in by other buildings, making photography very difficult. Equally, the external stonework shows the effects of centuries of soot and dust (Photos 2,3).
One of the building’s highlights is the richly decorated mosaic tiled roof. If there is a clear view of the entire south side roof from the old city area, we were unable to find it. Fortunately, a view of the northern roof with the Austrian coat of arms is possible from the Reisenrad giant ferris wheel at the Prater (Photo 4) (NB binoculars or a long telephoto are required). Another photographic hint – the late afternoon sun (heading photo) is much kinder than the morning light, and from a more suitable direction. Address: St.Stephens cathedralDirections: Smack in the centre of the city. |
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Putting Judenplatz first on my 'To Do' list is a very conscious decision. In a week filled with pleasurable and interesting things to see and do this was the place that jolted my complacency and made me remember that Vienna wasn't always a home for everyone. For Jews it was never a secure place and long before Anschluss they had already been expelled twice, in 1420 and in 1670. When I arrived at Judenplatz, the centre of the old Jewish ghetto I got very taken up with admiring the proportions and buildings of this really pretty square. I knew the jewish Museum was here but was in no way prepared for the Rachel Whiteread Holocaust Memorial which by some oversight I had not read about. It's at the opposite end of the square from the statue of the playwright Ephraim Lessing and turning round I actually wondered what 'that shed' was doing obstructing my view. The 'Shed' was the memorial and going closer I felt a real physical shock quickly followed by emotional meltdown. It's described as a bunker but to me it was a gas chamber and nothing else. Bleak and uncompromising, it has no ornamentation apart from the bricks shaped like book spines, symbolising the thousands of burned books. It's a sickly greyish-white colour with a large locked door and no means of escape. On the raised kerb surrounding it are lists of the Nazi death camps.
Is this a fitting memorial to the 65,00 Austrian jews exterminated by the nazis ? Personally, I still find it hard to decide and it's a memorial that has caused huge controversey. The levels of loathing and revulsion that it aroused in me were quite hard to cope with but I suppose that could be seen as a measure of its success. Address: Judenplatz in the Innere StadtPhone: 535 04 31Directions: Between Am Hof and the Hoher MarktWebsite: www.vienna.info/www.jmw.at |
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On a sunny day, don't hesitate to visit this immense cemetery of easy access by tram 71 from the centre.
The graves of the famous "Musiker" are easy to find, to the left in the big central lane which leads to the church Karl Lueger.
When I arrived at the grave of Schubert, my favourite musician, there was a small group of very noisy tourists and to add to the noise a lawn mower was touring around the graves.
The ideal circumstances for a dialogue "d'outre tombe" with Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Straus were obviously not reunited so that I made a tour of the monumental "bourgeois" graves along the main lane reading some epitaphs.
I so discovered a very beautiful grave of a person who was a hairdresser in Vienna.
He had to be an illustrious hairdresser given the magnificence of his tomb.
I said to myself that it was financially better to be a hairdresser in Vienna than a musician. Mozart will not contradict me.
When the group of tourists and the lawn mower had disappeared I could walk back to the graves of the "Musiker" and honour the memory of these creators of beauty. Address: Zentralfriedhof Tür 2 MusikerDirections: Tram 71 from the terminus of the square Schwarzenberg. Stop Zentralfriedhof Tür 2. For public transport info see www.wienplan.com |
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How could you come to Vienna and not pay tribute to Mozart?
The "Figaro" house is the only survivor of the eleven places the composer is known to have lived in at various times in Vienna, and he only occupied an apartment in the building at that, but the years between 1784 and 1787 that he spent there were known to be among the happiest of his short life, and it was here that he wrote the sublime "Marriage of Figaro".
Apart from the music, there's little that is tangible left of Mozart's life, so don't expect to find much here that belonged to the genius. The whole museum is really a piece of smoke and mirrors, using clever effects and a few prints, copies of scores and other odds and ends to tell the story. It won't be enough for some people, but for others just to walk through the rooms, to gaze at the elaborate ceiling of his and Constanza's bedroom, to hear the strains of the immortal music, is enough to conjure up the ghost. Leave a Comment |
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I grew up in Vienna, but never actually visited the Karlskirche until last year, when Ash, my mom, and I decided to see it close-up (she had lived in Vienna for about 40 years and hadn't seen it either!). The church is Vienna's most famous baroque building, and with it's big green cuppola has become one of the city's landmarks. If you have a chance to go there, make sure to take a close look at the tall white stone pillars outside the church and the scenes delicately engraved on them. Once you enter, the almost overbearlingly huge altar draws you to the front of the church immediately. You can pay an extra couple of Euros to take the elevator ride up to the top of the cuppola to get a closer look at the Michael Rottmeyr frescos. But that's not the end of it - from here on you can venture up to the very top of the church via stairs. Poor Ashie didn't know what he was in for - I suffered from extreme vertigo, and my mother wasn't physically too fit to handle those stairs (yet insisted to make her way up to the top). :-)
Opening hours:
9.00-12.30pm and 1.00-6.00pm (Mo - Sat)
1.00-6.00pm (Sun + holidays) Leave a Comment Address: Vienna's famous baroque churchDirections: take underground, tram, busses, or taxi to "Karlsplatz"-station.Website: www.karlskirche.at |
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Opern-Toilette is a funny place, right under the Opera. It was constructed some years ago and recently the so-called "Toilet-Bar" was added. It is a pissoir, designed by the artist Rudolf Scheffel and includes a Jazz-piano and 4 hungry lips, waiting untill you p*ss off....
Just Imagine, you walk through the lovely centre of Vienna, and get the idea or need, you want to powder your nose or to talk to a man about a horse...
There is a place, where you may do that in the apropriate way, you certainly expect to, in the metropole of classical music and good taste !
Ladies go ahead, through the big stage' curtain !
Gents go to the right please !
There is a small entrance fee of 60 cents
to be paid into a machine at the entrance.
And believe me : It's worth every cent !
I don't know much about the ladies tones,
when they powder their noses,
but at the men's department strange tones are not unusual
while talking to a man about a horse or a dog !
...and therefore Opera-music is played there in order to
get a more cultural "touch" into any discussion about horses...
Just imagine - Luciano Pavarotti is singing TOSCA
in the real Opera high above you,
while you may talk to a man about a horse...
and you may sit in one of these well-furnished boxes
and may go to the John
and nobody could blame you for that !!!
Just try to do the same in the real Opera's boxes and you will see what happens ... Leave a Comment Address: Under Ringstrasse, next to the OperaDirections: Opern-Toilette is just below the Opera. You simply take the rolling-stairs from the opera under the Ringstrasse and will have Opern-Toilette to your right. It is open untill midnight !! |
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